The common currency will face a key test today as European Central Bank officials gather at their policy-setting meeting. There’s plenty to discuss, for sure.

Spain is in recession, unemployment is skyrocketing, manufacturing is contracting and bond yields are creeping higher. Needless to say, Eurozone jitters are back in focus.

That said, most market watchers believe the ECB will hold rates steady and refrain from implementing additional easing measures. There may not be an impetus to do more right now, especially since the ECB cut rates to historically low levels at the beginning of the year and implemented two LTRO programs that flooded the banking system with liquidity.

But for all the tremors surrounding the Continent, the euro hasn’t really budged from about $1.31 since mid-January. Thursday morning, again, the euro was little changed at $1.3130.

That, some observers say, could set up the ECB meeting to be a key battleground for euro bears and bulls.

Any dovish tone from the ECB – like a hint that another LTRO could be, even theoretically, possible – would likely drive the euro lower, says Eric Chouteau, head of rates and FX trading at Natixis North America.

That’s what you’d expect.

But there’s another argument surfacing – that any further accommodation may actually be beneficial for the euro, given that it may actually help prevent further implosion.

“A knee-jerk reaction to any further QE may be initially lower for the euro,” says a Greenwich, Conn., hedge fund manager. But ultimately, he’s betting the euro may strengthen “as the market perceives any further involvement by the ECB as positive for EU growth going forward.”

And, by extension, any failure on the ECB’s part to even hint at a willingness to help the region’s economy could end up driving the euro down.

Morning MarketBeat Daily Factoid: On this day in 1936, “Joltin” Joe DiMaggio made his professional baseball debut with the New York Yankees.

-By Steven Russolillo and Min Zeng

Stocks to Watch
Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Thursday’s session are Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., Mitek Systems Inc. and Weight Watchers International Inc.

Green Mountain’s fiscal second-quarter income rose 42% as sales of its K-Cup coffee and tea portion packs continued to improve, though sales were weaker than expected and margins narrowed. The company also lowered its full-year guidance and projected third-quarter adjusted earnings far below what analysts were expecting. Shares tumbled 41% to $29.45 after hours. The results weighed on Green Mountain coffee-bean supplier Coffee Holding Co., driving shares down 8.9% to $8 after hours.

Bank-technology vendor Mitek swung to a loss in its fiscal second quarter after the company lost a major chunk of its top line following a dispute with customer United Services Automobile Association, better known as USAA. Shares dropped 46% to $3.12 after hours.

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